Vertical sanitary trap assembly for drain pipes

ABSTRACT

This invention consists of an assembly of a plug, a strainer and a covered waste-water trap for drain pipes. These three are generally of the same circular shape and size to be tangentially attached to a vertical rod in that order. This assembly, excepting the top part of the plug, should fit snugly into a straight drain pipe of a standard size, and should perform its function well by allowing waste-water to move through freely, while sealing off effectively any sewer gas, bacteria and vermin without using U-shaped elbows now widely installed as &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;a sanitary trap&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;.

United States Patent 11 1 [111 3,892,257 Zia July 11, 1975 [54] VERTICALSANITARY TRAP ASSEMBLY 2,617,491 11/1952 Ross 137/247.l9

FOR DRAIN PIPES 2,770,314 11/1956 Powell 137/247.17 3,572,375 3/1971Rosenberg 137/512 [76] Inventor: Yee C. Zia, 6 Sheffield Dr.,

Wlnmgboro 08046 Primary Examiner-l-larold W. Weakley [22] Filed: Sept.20, 1973 [211 App]. No.: 399,256 [57] ABSTRACT This invention consistsof an assembly of a plug, a [52] Qy 137/247; 137/241; 137/241; strainerand a covered waste-water trap for drain 137/248; 137/512; 137/550pipes. These three are generally of the same circular 51 Int. (:1. F16k15/03 ShaP6 and Size be tangentially attached to a Vertical [581 Fieldof Search..... 137/247.11, 247.13, 247.15, rod in that This assembly,excepting the top 137/247 17 247 19 24721 24723 248 part of the plug,should fit snugly into a straight drain 37 d pipe of a standard size,and should perform its function well by allowing waste-water to movethrough 56] References Cited freely, while sealing off effectively anysewer gas, bac- UNITED STATES PATENTS teria and vermin without usingU-shaped elbows now widely installed as a sanitary trap. 233,104 10/1880Langschmidt 137/248 X 510,503 12/1893 Falkinburg l37/247.17 5 Claims, 2Drawing Figures VERTHIAL SANITARY TRAP ASSEMBLY FOR DRAIN PIPES As iswell known, the U-shaped bends, called ells or elbows, now used as trapsin wash basins, sinks, bath tubs, showers etc., while sealing off sewergas, have the disadvantages of collecting slowly soluble and insolublematters in their bends and bottoms to gradually and increasinglyinterfere with the free flow of waste-water until a complete stoppageoccurs which will call for costly repairs. Moreover, such a sanitarytrap usually leaves its top receiving end completely open and, if leftunused with no refilling for days or weeks, may easily become a breedingpool of bacteria and vermins, and furthermore, in case of protractednon-usage leading to total evaporation of some two inches of the trappedwater, will lose completely its function as a sanitary trap. Anuninhabited mansion can thus become really uninhabitable in a relativelyshort time. Last but not the least, open-end traps may lead to siphoningoff its trapped water; which is a main reason for the costlyinstallation of a separate vent pipe. I

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to providean easy-to-install and easy-toreplace assembly of a plug-strainer-trapcombination on the top of drain pipes in a straightaway manner, formingwhat may be called a Vertical Sanitary Trap, thus requiring onlystraight pipe fixtures and doing away with the U-shaped ells or elbowslong in use.

lt is another object of the present invention to provide aplug-strainer-trap assembly in which the trap is normally covered andclosed, and especially so when the fixtures are not being used, thus nofurther contamination of the trapped water can be introducedsubsequently, nor can any smell or fume or evaporation of the trappedwater come through the cover or upper disc of this closed, verticalsanitary trap, because the upper disc as well as the bottom disc aremade to be watertight and impossible to open or move upward, onlydownward. ln other words, such a trap as presented in this invention isand will remain sanitary, while the U-shaped open traps now widely usedin many lands are not and will not remain so. Besides, once thisVertical Trap Assembly is installed, there could be no sewer gas problemin the drain pipes, hence no need of a costly vent from the ground upthrough the roof top.

Some mention may also be made in regard to the positioning of thestrainer in this invention, because it can and will carry out its job asa strainer much better than many other strainers now in use. As it ispositioned well below the plug, it is thus seldom noticed and wellbeyond the reach of ordinary hands using the fixture and most probablywill be left alone in its place to do its job, yet at the same time canbe readily pulled up and cleaned up by those responsible.

lt is a further object of the present invention to provide a highlyimproved plug-strainer-trap assembly for i drain pipes with theadvantageous characteristics mentionedtin the preceding paragraphs whichis extremely simple in structure, requiring a minimum ofparts, durableand entirely dependable, as well as easily removable for a thoroughcleaning and readily replaceable at a reasonable cost.

In this connection, a question may be raised as to how could sewer gasbe prevented from coming up throughfthe wide open drain pipe during theintervals when said assembly has been pulled up for cleaning orrepairing. The simple answer to such a question is that a spare assemblyof the same make should always be kept at hand and readily installedinto the drain opening at the same moment as the old one is pulled out.This changeover could be as simple and easy as changing a light bulb, ifnot more so.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent upon reading thefollowing specification and referring to the accompanying drawings,which form a material part of this disclosure The invention accordinglyconsists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, andarrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the constructionhereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by theseveral appended claims.

ln the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of our assembly in full scale for conventionaldrain pipe of 1% inches diameter. It shows a rod 5 of little more than 4inches in height, on the top of which is attached a plug 1 slightlylarger than 1% inches in diameter at its very top but tapers offdownward to exactly 1% inches. lt should be manufactured to attach tothe rod firmly in such a way as to enable its round top move easilyaround the point of attachment 8 on the rod, yet impossible to bedetached from the rod. ln other words, the plug is made in such a waythat a user can easily move it away from the drain opening in order torelease the water, yet cannot pull it off. By lifting the plug upwards,however, the entire tight-fit assembly may be pulled up without too muchexertion.

Also in FIG. l,'we see a strainer 2 which is attached to the rod 5 at apoint an inch or so below the plug. This part of the assembly should bemanufactured in such a way as to make it necessary to pull up the rod atleast an inch in order to reach the same level as the strainer to beable to remove it and to reinstall it later by a simple snap-on-and-offmotion.

Again in FIG. 1, we see the upper disc 3 and the lower disc 4 of ourtrap attached to the rod in such a way that either of them can only movedownward but never upward from its normally level position, because eachis held firmly at its center area by a springoperated arm which willallow it to move downward under pressure but not upward. The arm 6holding the upper disc should be equipped with a spring much less rigidand less powerful than the spring in the other arm 7 holding the bottomdisc. Essentially, the arms and the discs should be manufactured in sucha way as to allow the upper disc to ,open downward at its unattachedside under any slight amount of pressure such as an ounce of water overit; while the lower arm 7 being more rigid and powerful, should hold thelower disc firm against any downward movement on its unattached sideunless and until there should be a good deal of pressure such as twoinches of water or more over it. Both discs may be fitted with gasketsor something like them in order to make them watertight against theenclosing pipe. Consequently, there shall remain over the lower disc atall time some 2 inches of water to act as a double guard against anysewer gas. Moreover, since our entire trap assembly is constructed insuch a way as to make any backing up of the trapped water absolutelyimpossible, the common phenomenon known to the trade as siphoning off"of trapped water and breaking of the seal of the trap cannot happenunder my system here.

, 3 FIG. 2 represents a sectionalaviewof my Vertical Sanitary Trap whenthere is no new waste-water comingdown and the two discsjare holdingtheir normal level position with some two inches of waterbetwe'en them.s

From the foregoing, it'is seen that the present invention provides asanitary trap assembly for waste-water drain pipes which fullyaccomplishes its intended objects and is well adapted to meetpracticaLconditions of manufacture, installation and use. 7

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by wayof illustration and example for purpose of clarity" of understanding, itis understood that certain changes and modifications may be made withinthe true spirit of the, invention andlthe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed by me as new and desired to cured by Letters Patent inthe United States is: 1. A vertical sanitary trap assembly including aplug, astrainer, and an upper and a lower disc duly spaced from eachother to form a water trap inside a drain'pipe 1 outermost circumferencein such a way as to enable the bottom part of said plug to revolvearound said point in. a level plane, said strainer being securelyattached to be sejing or replacement.

the two discs to form a vertical water trap inside a drain pipe,normally closed at both the top and the bottom. 3.The assembly accordingto claim 1, said strainer being positioned out of sight and beyond thereach of ordinary handswhile within easy reach of a responsible personto clean or replace it with a snap-on-and-off ease.

4. The assembly according to claim 1, said plug being normally disposedto rest snugly over the pipe opening and completely closing it up, yetalso being adapted to revolve around its point of attachment to the rodas well as to serve likea handle for pulling up the assemsaid point yeteasily snapped off and on, and eachof two said discs-so attached beingadditionally held over its center area by a spring-operated arm stemmedfromthe rod thereby permitting either disc only a downward movementunder pressure; the entire assembly must fit 5.The combination accordingto claim 2, said water trap being normally closed at the top and thebottom, being structurally impossible for either of the two disc to bemoved or open upward, while the water being trapped between themnaturally disposed to remain at a fixed level and subject to no changeexcept to the arrival of a new amount of water, thus fully ensuring thisvertical trap as a sanitary trap that is dependable and trouble free.

1. A vertical sanitary trap assembly including a plug, a strainer, andan upper and a lower disc duly spaced from each other to form a watertrap inside a drain pipe of the same diameter, all parallelly,perpendicularly and tangentially attached to a rod at a point on theiroutermost circumference in such a way as to enable the bottom part ofsaid plug to revolve around said point in a level plane, said strainerbeing securely attached to said point yet easily snapped off and on, andeach of two said discs so attached being additionally held over itscenter area by a spring-operated arm stemmed from the rod therebypermitting either disc only a downward movement under pressure; theentire assembly must fit inside a drain pipe in a watertight manner, yetallow itself to be detached and pulled out for cleaning, repairing orreplacement.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1, said discs being thusattached to the rod and also held by spring-operated arms, said upperdisc being held in a relatively loose manner to allow it open downwardunder a slight weight or pressure over its top side, while said lowerdisc being held in a relatively rigid manner to allow it open downwardonly under considerable weight or pressure such as two inches plus ofwater, thus causing the two discs to form a vertical water trap inside adrain pipe, normally closed at both the top and the bottom.
 3. Theassembly according to claim 1, said strainer being positioned out ofsight and beyond the reach of ordinary hands while within easy reach ofa responsible person to clean or replace it with a snap-on-and-off ease.4. The assembly according to claim 1, said plug being normally disposedto rest snugly over the pipe opening and completely closing it up, yetalso being adapted to revolve around its point of attachment to the rodas well as to serve like a handle for pulling up the assembly itself. 5.The combination according to claim 2, said water trap being normallyclosed at the top and the bottom, being structurally impossible foreither of the two disc to be moved or open upward, while the water beingtrapped between them naturally disposed to remain at a fixed level andsubject to no change except to the arrival of a new amount of water,thus fully ensuring this vertical trap as a ''''sanitary trap'''' thatis dependable and trouble-free.